In their first game at the renovated New Orleans Arena Wednesday night, the New Orleans Pelicans found out what it’s like to face an elite franchise like the two-time defending champion Miami Heat.

When the fourth quarter came, the Heat turned it up a notch and the Pelicans couldn't keep up. The Heat took advantage of a 24-4 fourth quarter run to beat the Pelicans, 108-95, in front of 17,123.

It was the Pelicans' first loss in seven preseason games. The Pelicans had played their first six preseason games on the road, including an Oct. 13 game against the Atlanta Hawks in Biloxi, Miss., because of renovations to the Arena.

New Orleans will close out its preseason schedule Friday on the road against the Orlando Magic before opening the regular season Oct. 30 against the Indiana Pacers at the Arena.

The Pelicans will be looking to correct their flaws from Wednesday's game such as going four minutes into the fourth quarter before finally scoring on shooting guard Eric Gordon's two free throws.

It didn’t get better for New Orleans with the Heat getting any shot it wanted. When the Heat overloaded the Pelicans' pick-and-roll plays with defenders, it took away New Orleans' ability to execute. The Pelicans repeatedly forced ill-advised passes and missed 11 of 14 shot attempts in the fourth quarter, including all four from 3-point range.

After committing 25 turnovers in last Saturday's 93-89 victory against the Washington Wizards, the Pelicans committed 24 against the Heat. They came in averaging 18 a game.

"It's a great teaching tape for us as we grow as a team,'' Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. "We've been preaching the value of the basketball and we saw when you play against the best team in the NBA, you can't have the kind of mistakes we had with the ball. When you turn the ball over 20-plus times and you only get 66 shots, it's tough to beat a team like that.''

Gordon led the Pelicans with 19 points and power forward Anthony Davis had 18. Reigning league MVP LeBron James led the Heat with 27 points and Dwyane Wade had 25.

``We can't turn the ball over like that,'' Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson said. ``They obviously have handled situations like this all the time. They have been in championship quality all the time. For us, we can't turn the ball over like that. Obviously, we know we can shoot the ball really well. They got a lot of open shots and they made them, but the key was the turnovers.''

The game had the feel of a highly contested regular-season matchup. Neither team held back from going after each other. James and Wade played deep into the second half as both seemed intent on outmatching the Pelicans' arsenal of guards.

Although the Pelicans led 70-64 with six minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Heat stormed back to retake the lead 83-82 on Wade's layup and didn’t trail the rest of the way.

In the fourth, Wade and veteran shooting guard Ray Allen took over, combining for 18 points. During a stretch early in the quarter, Wade made a running jump shot, a 3-pointer and soared for a dunk that put the Heat ahead 89-82. Allen made three 3-pointers as the Heat closed out the fourth quarter shooting 57.1 percent.

``Considering how they shot the ball early in the first half, it just seemed like we weren't going to be able to get the defensive stops, but we just stuck to our principles and finally overtook (them),'' Allen said.

Heat center Greg Oden, who had been slowed by a sore knee, played in his first NBA game since 2009. He entered in the second quarter and played four minutes and scored two points. Oden, the former No. 1 overall draft pick in 2007, has had multiple knee surgeries.

Early on, the Pelicans executed brilliantly. They made 13 of their first 17 shots to take a 34-19 lead that got the crowd cheering. The Pelicans continued to spread the floor, moved the ball and blitzed the Heat from behind the 3-point line. They were 7-of-13 on 3s in the first half, leading to a 60-58 halftime lead. During a stretch that extended into the second quarter, the Heat went on a 20-3 run, taking advantage of their veteran leadership and extreme talent.

``We know that when we lock it down defensively and limit our turnovers, we are capable of beating anyone,'' Davis said. ``That goes for any team. We have a great chance to be a great team this year, but we have to continue to work. It's not just going to be given to us.''